Crystal Palace enter the new Premier League campaign in a period of significant upheaval, having lost the manager who delivered the most successful era in the club's history. Oliver Glasner, who guided Palace to an FA Cup victory and, remarkably, a Conference League title within the space of twelve months, departed in early July to take charge at Nottingham Forest, a club many Palace supporters associate with their controversial demotion from the Europa League.
The timing of Glasner's exit stung supporters, though the club had already moved quickly to secure his successor. Pierre Sage, previously in charge at Lens, was confirmed as the new head coach three weeks before Glasner's departure was made official. Sage arrives in south London on the back of an impressive campaign in France, where he led Lens to second place in Ligue 1 and won the Coupe de France in only his second full season as a senior manager. Despite that pedigree, the 47-year-old Frenchman has managed fewer than 100 professional matches and takes on a demanding role that now includes navigating a Europa League campaign alongside domestic commitments.
Sage inherits a squad that remains largely intact from last season's FA Cup final win over Manchester City, with eight of that starting XI still at the club. Daichi Kamada's decision to sign a new one-year deal rather than follow Glasner to Forest was seen as a boost, but Palace face a battle to retain key figures such as Daniel Muñoz, Adam Wharton and Ismaïla Sarr before the transfer window shuts, with Muñoz reportedly drawing interest from Saudi Arabia.
Defensively, Palace must also fill the void left by Maxence Lacroix's departure, with the club lacking an obvious leader at the back. One response has been the free-transfer signing of Óscar Mingueza, the versatile Spanish defender who arrives from Celta Vigo via his formative years at Barcelona. Mingueza, capable of operating as a wing-back or on the right of a back three, impressed for Celta last season and had reportedly attracted interest from Aston Villa and Newcastle. The 27-year-old, who has four senior caps for Spain, also has a notable football pedigree — his sister Ariadna represents the Spanish women's national team.
Financially, the club's summer business has been complicated by an earlier outlay of around £80m on Jørgen Strand Larsen and Brennan Johnson in January, a deal that looks questionable after Palace subsequently agreed to swap Johnson for Everton's Dwight McNeil. That earlier spending has limited Sage's resources heading into a season that will again stretch the squad across multiple competitions.
Off the pitch, long-awaited redevelopment work has finally begun on Selhurst Park's new main stand, a project expected to cost more than £150m and raise capacity to 34,000 by 2028 or 2029. The financial demands of the build have coincided with reports that majority stakeholders Josh Harris, David Blitzer and Woody Johnson are considering selling their combined 79% ownership, leaving chairman Steve Parish with the task of steadying the club's off-field future.
On the pitch, the statistics point to an attacking issue that Sage must address quickly. Only Wolves scored fewer goals than Palace last season among Premier League sides generating similar expected-goals output in open play, with Palace underperforming their attacking metrics by one of the widest margins in Europe's top five leagues.
There is optimism from within the academy, however, with 16-year-old winger Joél Drakes-Thomas already breaking club records after becoming Palace's youngest-ever Premier League player following his senior debut in the Conference League.
Internationally, several Palace players enjoyed strong showings at the World Cup, with Yéremy Pino picking up a winners' medal despite limited playing time, while Sarr, Kamada and Muñoz combined for eight goals for their respective nations.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.